The Indian cricket team have been denied security cover by the Chandigarh Police as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has unpaid bills amounting to Rs 9 crore to pay to the Chandigarh police.
When the Men in Blue reached the airport they were given security by the Mohali police. But they did it until the territory of Chandigarh police started, as reported by Times Now. The players were, however, provided private security arrangements.
The Men in Blue, led by captain Virat Kohli, are slated to face South Africa in the second T20 fixture of the three-match series at the PCA stadium in Mohali, Chandigarh, on September 18.
The first fixture of the series, which was supposed to be held at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala, got washed out due to rain as both the teams did not even take the field for a single delivery.
Fortunately for both the teams, the weather forecast in Mohali looks favourable for the whole of 40 overs as the teams are raring to go against each other. But the security issue can turn out to be a major concern for BCCI.
Virat Kohli has already indicated that Team India is looking at all the options available to make the right team for the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in 2020. They are taking every T20 series from now on to prepare and set the team for the upcoming event.
The Men in Blue did not bring many changes to the squad which completed a whitewash in the three-match T20 series against West Indies in the recently concluded Caribbean tour. India will look forward to repeating such commendable performances and win the second T20 fixture to get a 1-0 lead in the series.
Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was again not selected for the series against South Africa which aroused speculations regarding his retirement.
But Indian chief selector MSK Prasad cleared rumours stating that the 38-year-old wicket-keeper batsman was unavailable for selection.
